The Earth System and Planetary Boundaries Flashcards
(12 cards)
Terrestrial vertebrate biomass
Domesticated animals ca 65%
Humans ca 32%
Vertebrate wildlife < 3%
Amsterdam Declaration on Global Change (2001)
”The Earth System behaves
as a single, self-regulating
system comprised of
physical, chemical,
human and biological
components…”
P.J Crutzen. “The Geology of Mankind”, Nature 2002
Explicitly proposed the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch
Suggested that the start date be set at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, late 1700’s
Climate change: An earth system perspective
Temperatures rise beyond the envelope of natural variability
But we are beginning to see political acknowledgement of the fact humans are a part of the Earth System
SDG (Sustainable Development Goals)
17 goals
Relevant for all global citizens, not just for those in developing countries
Few goals are on track to be met and for several goals, the trend is in the wrong direction
The challenge is giving all access to the finite resources necessary to allowed continued development.
Continued societal development requires that resource demand must not exceed supply - but how do we quantify the “supply”? (Climate “ 1.5-2 C)(Planetary boundaries)
Valuable vs loss of ecosystem services
Valuable Ecosystem Services (Desirable):
- Coral dominance
- Clear water
- Grassland
Loss of Ecosystem Services (Undesirable):
- Algal dominance
- Turbid water
- Shrub-bushland
Causes leading from desirable to undesirable:
- Overfishing, coastal eutrophication
- Disease, hurricane
- Phosphorous accumulation in soil and mud
- Flooding, warming, overexploitation of predators
- Fire prevention
- Good rains, continuous heavy grazing
Planetary Boundaries
“Core boundaries”:
- Climate change
- Biosphere Integrity
Extraction:
- Biogeochemical loading (Global N and P cycles)
- Land system change
- Global Freshwater Change
Waste:
- Novel entities
- Ocean acidification
- Atmospheric aerosol loading
- Ozone depletion
Drivers of recent global anthropogenic biodiversity loss
Ranking of drivers differ on land and in the ocean
Differ geographically
Differs by EBV class
Take home message
Pressure on critical ecosystem services processes increasing
Not enough to focus on climate alone (emerging metrics to assess biodiversity impacts)
Humanity is using too much biomass already, so innovation needed to create photosynthesis where it would not naturally occur
Work for “systemic” governance! Institutionalize the framework
Support for decision-making tools that better capture the interactions between Biosphere and Geosphere (i.e., true Earth system models)
Geosphere
Energy (climate), materials
Biosphere
All living organisms
Anthroposphere
People
